Threaded-closure-turning tool



Oct. 22, 1957 w. D. SMITH TI-IREADED-CLOSURE-TURNING TOOL Filed Jan. 6, 1955 "'IIHH m mll Mill INVENTOQ WEBSTER DEROYCE Sum- A-r-rYsQ United States Patent TI-IREADED-CLOSURE-TURNING TOOL Webster Deroyce Smith, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

Application January 6, 1955, Serial No. 480,253

3 Claims. (CI. 81-34) My invention relates to utility tools or wrenches working on the principle of the familiar alligator jaw wrench.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a kitchen tool for tightening or loosening threaded closures such as screw fittings or jar or bottle covers constructed of a plate of material formed to define tapered throats having a serrated gripping edge which securely holds the closure permitting it to be rotated for tightening or loosening without digging in and damaging the closure and container. It is a more specific object of the invention to provide such a tool having difierent size throats so as to accommodate a continuous, wide range of sizes of closures. It is another more specific object of the invention to provide such a tool having a pair of throats such that one throatmay be used for twisting the closure in one direction and the other throat used for twisting the closure in the opposite direction, as in removing or applying a jar or bottle cover.

It is another object to provide a tool of a one-piece construction as byforming from a fiat piece of sheet material. It is a related object to provide the tool with a shape which inherently stiffens and makes it more rigid, to form a sturdy, compact unit.

These and other objects of my invention will appear as the description proceeds.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a bottom oblique view of one embodiment of my invention providing both a lefthand and a right-hand wrench. Fig. 2 is a bottom oblique view of a modified form of my invention.

In Fig. 1, the body piece 11 has a relatively smooth rib member 12 disposed between the two converging serrated edges 13 and 14. One or more holes 15 may be provided for screws to support the device which acts on shapes, jar covers, etc. inserted between edge 13 and rib 12 as a left-hand alligator jaw wrench (i. e. loosens a right-hand screw jar cover), and acts on shapes etc. inserted between rib 12 and edge 14 as a right-hand wrench (i. e. tightens a right-hand screw jar over).

In Fig. 2, the body piece 16 has a diagonal rib member 17 disposed between parallel or nearly parallel serrated edges 18 and 19. One or more supporting holes 20 may be provided. The embodiment as shown in Fig. 2 acts on shapes, jar covers, etc. inserted between rib 17 and either edge 18 or 19 as a left-hand wrench. If the slopes of the teeth and the diagonal rib member 17 are reversed, the device then acts as a right-hand wrench. It is so noted that while rib member 17 is shown as being offcenter to provide for a wider range of possible jar cover etc. sizes, it can be centered if desired.

2,810,311 Patented Oct. 22, 1957 It is to be further noted that the serrated edges in each of the embodiments shown serve as a ready made hook with which a clamp or slip-on type of bottle or jar cap may be pried 01f; however, this provision is not essential to the remainder of my invention.

Although various details may be changed, the foregoing nevertheless explains the elements and spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A tool for operating on threaded closures comprising a single plate of stilt material defining an essentially fiat base portion, said plate having two opposite edges turned to define opposed serrated gripping edges spaced from said base portion, and said plate being folded across said base portion to define a projecting rib whose opposite sides respectively slope toward each of said opposed gripping edges and are substantially at right angles to the base so that each serrated edge and its opposed rib side define a tapered throat, the serrations in said gripping edges being angled in the direction of the taper for releasably gripping a closure.

2. A tool for operating on threaded closures comprising a single plate of stiff material defining an essentially fiat base portion, said plate having two opposite edges turned to define opposed serrated gripping edges spaced from said base portion, and said plate being folded across said base portion to define a projecting rib whose opposite sides respectively slope toward each of said opposed gripping edges and are substantially at right angles to the base so that each serrated edge and its opposed rib side define a tapered throat, said plate being substantially symmetrically divided by the projecting rib to form two tapered throats, the serrations in said gripping edges being angled in the direction of the taper for releasably gripping a closure so that one tapered throat is used for applying a closure and the other throat is used for removing a closure.

3. A tool for operating on threaded closures c0mprising a single plate of stiff metal defining an essentially flat base portion, said plate having two opposite edges positioned above said base and serrated to define opposed gripping edges spaced from said base portion, and a diagonally disposed rib projecting from said base portion and offset from the center of said base between said edges to define a projecting rib whose opposite sides respectively slope toward each of said opposed gripping edges and are substantially at right angles to the base so that each edge and its opposed rib side define a tapered throat having a wide and a narrow end for releasably gripping a closure with one throat being of greater size than the other, the wide end of the lesser size throat being at least as large as the narrow end of the other throat so that the throat sizes are complementary to accommodate a continuous range of sizes of closures.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 802,018 OBrien Oct. 17,.1905 1,707,804 Haase Apr. 2, 1929 2,053,246 Lurcott Sept. 1, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 614,982 Great Britain Dec. 30, 1948 

